Wireless energy transfer for contactless battery charging of an active mobile device and over-the-air high speed data transmission between an active mobile device and a remote access point or base station typically use two distinct radio frequency wireless transmission techniques: magnetic conductive coupling and radio-electric propagation coupling. Each of these wireless transmission techniques use a dedicated antenna design for operation within a specific radio frequency range. Magnetic conductive coupling typically operates at LF (low frequency) radio frequencies less than 10 MHz with a transmission range less than 10 cm. Radio-electric coupling typically operates at UHF radio frequencies in the range of 300 MHz up to 3-5 GHz with a transmission range greater than 1 m.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a wireless technology allowing two devices to communicate over a short distance of approximately 10 cm or less. NFC is standardized internationally within NFC Forum specifications and defined in ISO/IEC 18092, ECMA-340, and ISO 14443, for example. NFC allows a mobile device to interact with a subscriber's immediate environment. With close-range contactless technology, mobile devices may be used as credit cards, to access public transportation, to access secured locations, and many more applications. While NFC may used for short distance communication and collecting energy to power the mobile device, the mobile device may also include a UHF-RF transceiver for longer distance communication using a separate antenna.
Contactless systems are commonly used as access control ID's (e.g. employee badges), as well as payment systems for public transportation etc. More recently, credit cards are beginning to include NFC capability. Lately, contactless capabilities are being integrated into mobile phones as well; recent examples are Nokia's 6212 phone and Google's Android, which supported NFC in its latest release.
Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.